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Driving Tests

Asked by Dr Scott ArthurLabourDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 7 September 2026UIN 26292

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people (a) sat their practical driving test and (b) used dual control cars in each of the last 5 years for which data is available.

Answered by Department for Transport

The table below shows the number of candidates who took a car practical driving test in each of the last 5 financial years, and how many of them took at least one test in a car with dual controls.

Year

Number of candidates who took a test

Number of candidates who used dual controls at least once

2021/22

1,013,920

837,995

2022/23

1,081,436

893,681

2023/24

1,193,117

968,557

2024/25

1,184,124

954,803

2025/26

1,303,986

1,045,121

Please note:

  • Where a person took tests in multiple years, they will be counted once in each year.

  • As the count is based on a candidate’s driver number, if a candidate changed their driver number and took multiple tests in the same year, each number will be counted separately.

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